Blew
Active Member
I am looking to replace my current JBL 104 monitors, which are far from great sounding, so am considering buying these or the JBL 305P MKII reviewed below:
www.audiosciencereview.com
I will mostly use them for playing music while I work, when I don't feel like wearing headphones. Ideally I would like the monitors to be placed on my desk relatively close to the wall (brick, 10 to 20cm from my desk), so I like the idea of the front port on these Classic 5s. However, I could make space for speaker stands on each side of the desk if necessary. I am concerned about active monitors that use DSP, such as in the 305P, as it's another ADC/DAC process that would (in theory) negate the point of having a decent output DAC and limit the capability of my system. I will probably use software DSP via EQ APO anyway.
I also like the fact that these are class A amplified and have RCA input for flexibility. I really love the class A sound of my Singxer SA-1 over other class D headphone amps I've heard, and do like a little "warmth", so figure that the class A amplification of these monitors would be a good thing. The RCA input means that I could output directly from my Topping E50 to the speakers without requiring the XLR/TRS output from , as the TRS balanced out from the E50 is connected to the SA-1. I currently use RCA from the SA-1 to my current JBL 104 monitors and don't detect any ground loop distortion, but haven't tested with balanced from the SA-1 due to not having the appropriate cables and the 104s are not great to begin with.
I know the 305P MKII measures better, but have also found that there are aspects to speaker sound quality that aren't measured yet, so I wonder if these would be a better fit for my system and use case. Eg the 305P are known to hiss a bit, which is too low to be detected in the measurements. I managed to audition the 305P in my local store and they sounded "good" but not "great", which I guess is expected for the price class they're in. The problem is the auditioning environment is far from ideal as there is a lot of external noise in the store and I am only able to use my phone with a horrible dongle DAC to test music on them, so I couldn't give them very close attention.
Am I on the right line of thinking here regarding the front porting, DSP, class A amplification, direct RCA DAC output bypassing the SA-1 of these being advantages over the 305P?, Or are these features not as relevant as I'm assuming they are and the 305Ps measurements clearly make them a better choice? The ROKIT RP5 G4 are an option too.
JBL LSR305P MKii and Control 1 Pro Monitors Review
This is a review and detailed measurements of the JBL 305P Mark ii powered studio monitor and Control 1 Pro budget passive monitor. I purchased the 305P Pro Mark ii when it first came out and it currently sells for US $147.50 from Amazon including Prime shipping. This is the price for one so...
www.audiosciencereview.com
I will mostly use them for playing music while I work, when I don't feel like wearing headphones. Ideally I would like the monitors to be placed on my desk relatively close to the wall (brick, 10 to 20cm from my desk), so I like the idea of the front port on these Classic 5s. However, I could make space for speaker stands on each side of the desk if necessary. I am concerned about active monitors that use DSP, such as in the 305P, as it's another ADC/DAC process that would (in theory) negate the point of having a decent output DAC and limit the capability of my system. I will probably use software DSP via EQ APO anyway.
I also like the fact that these are class A amplified and have RCA input for flexibility. I really love the class A sound of my Singxer SA-1 over other class D headphone amps I've heard, and do like a little "warmth", so figure that the class A amplification of these monitors would be a good thing. The RCA input means that I could output directly from my Topping E50 to the speakers without requiring the XLR/TRS output from , as the TRS balanced out from the E50 is connected to the SA-1. I currently use RCA from the SA-1 to my current JBL 104 monitors and don't detect any ground loop distortion, but haven't tested with balanced from the SA-1 due to not having the appropriate cables and the 104s are not great to begin with.
I know the 305P MKII measures better, but have also found that there are aspects to speaker sound quality that aren't measured yet, so I wonder if these would be a better fit for my system and use case. Eg the 305P are known to hiss a bit, which is too low to be detected in the measurements. I managed to audition the 305P in my local store and they sounded "good" but not "great", which I guess is expected for the price class they're in. The problem is the auditioning environment is far from ideal as there is a lot of external noise in the store and I am only able to use my phone with a horrible dongle DAC to test music on them, so I couldn't give them very close attention.
Am I on the right line of thinking here regarding the front porting, DSP, class A amplification, direct RCA DAC output bypassing the SA-1 of these being advantages over the 305P?, Or are these features not as relevant as I'm assuming they are and the 305Ps measurements clearly make them a better choice? The ROKIT RP5 G4 are an option too.
